


Fate's Got Cards that It Don't Want to Show

by Zetal (Rodinia)



Series: Good Things Happen Bingo [5]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Abandonment, BMoL Code, Ketch Is a Great Big Bag of Dicks, M/M, Murder, naive dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 15:25:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19379464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rodinia/pseuds/Zetal
Summary: There are very few things Dean hates more than having to admit to his father that he made a huge mistake.  Unfortunately, there's not really much else he can do when he wakes up and his boyfriend is gone.





	Fate's Got Cards that It Don't Want to Show

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Dean Winchester Bingo  
> Square: Motel Room
> 
> Written for SPN Song Bingo  
> Square: [Walkaway Joe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCdCuduv0H0) \- Trisha Yearwood ft. Don Henley
> 
> Written for Good Things Happen Bingo  
> Square: High School Crush
> 
> Written for Rare Ship Bingo  
> Square: Dean/Ketch

Dean woke up, memories of the last day filling his brain. It had been a very weird twenty-four hours, and he could use some time to think things through. He reached across the motel room bed, expecting his hand to encounter his boyfriend at some point, but Ketch seemed to not be there. That got Dean to open his eyes. Ketch wasn’t in the bed. There was no sign of Ketch in the room. Dean got to his feet, ran to the window, and searched the parking long. Ketch’s car wasn’t there.

This was exactly the kind of thing Dad had tried to warn him about the morning before. Dean hadn’t seen the big deal about taking off with Ketch. Dad would have Sammy for backup, school was out, what was the big deal? Then again, Dad had never liked Ketch. Sammy either, but at least Sammy kept it to bad jokes about ketchup.

 

At first, Dean had thought Ketch was going to be just another in a long line of people he admired, crushed on, and moved on from because of hunting. Ketch was a badass. Sure, there was a darkness simmering under the surface, but that was true of Dean, too, really. It wasn’t meant to be, but Dean could dream, right?

Then he noticed Ketch completely ignoring the reading they were supposed to be doing in English in favor of reading a book about various types of ghosts. “You believe in that stuff?”

“I should hope so, given that my real job is hunting and killing things like these,” Ketch said, not even bothering to look up. “Skeptic who wants to pick a fight or a fellow hunter?”

That had been a lot easier than Dean expected. This Ketch guy was even more interesting now. “Fellow hunter. My little brother’s read that book. He says the section on poltergeists is bullshit, just so you know.”

Ketch snorted. “My cousin Mick said the same thing when he sent me the book. Sounds like your little brother knows his stuff.”

“Yeah, kid may only be twelve, but he’s a freakin’ genius. He’s way better with the book stuff than I ever will be. What brings you to town? Because if it’s the corpses with the missing hearts, my dad and I are on the case already.”

“School is too important,” Ketch said, voice dripping with sarcasm. Dean winced sympathetically. Sam would probably agree unironically, but thankfully, Dad didn’t. “During holidays, I’m allowed in the field, but the old man starts ranting about the importance of a proper education if I so much as think about fieldwork when school’s in session.”

“What’s your old man think of dating?” Dean blurted out before he could think too hard about it. For once, this was a prospect that might actually work out for more than a handful of hookups.

“As long as it’s another hunter or someone familiar with the life, he encourages it. Best way to get the next generation of hunters, he thinks.” Ketch paused, studying Dean. “You’re a hunter. I can do something about the interest in you. That is why you asked, correct?”

 

It took long enough for them to catch the werewolf that Dad agreed to stay until the end of the school year. On the last day of school, Ketch invited Dean to join him on the road for the summer. At first, Dean was hesitant. “I can’t just leave Sammy…”

“Sure you can. He and your dad need to learn to look out for each other without you playing referee. It’ll be good for all three of you.” Ketch gave Dean a quick kiss. “I’ll come get you at eight tomorrow morning. If you don’t show up by 8:15, I’ll assume it’s over and you don’t want to see me anymore.”

Dean half-expected the choice to be made for him. With school over, Dad would want to get on the road, right? No sense planning to meet someone in the morning when by eight he’d likely be in another state. Then Dad had a surprise – Jim Murphy was going to be passing through on his way home from a hunt that evening, and wanted to see his favorite boys. They’d be staying until morning.

Dean took that as a sign, and brought up Ketch’s offer. As expected, Dad told him hell no. “I don’t like that asshole. That doesn’t matter, you’re the one who has to, but the point is: I don’t trust that son of a bitch. You leave with him, I give it a week before he either ditches you somewhere or you end up back at somewhere like Sonny’s. Assuming he doesn’t just get you killed because he’s rusty. Stick with your family, Dean.”

Dean let it drop, but the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that he needed to get out of there. He made up his mind to go when he heard Pastor Jim and Dad fighting about the boys needing steady friends their age. Whatever Jim meant about too dependent on each other for everything, Dean didn’t care. It was the excuse he needed.

Dad wouldn’t accept the reasoning. “You may think you love him, but he doesn’t love you. You’re just being a stubborn fool. Your butt better be in the Impala at eight, or don’t go calling me for help when you figure out what Ketch really is.”

 

Dean’s butt had ended up in Ketch’s Bentley instead of the Impala. The final straw was when he apologized to Sam for leaving, Sam told him to go. “You always do everything Dad asks you to. He can let you do something for yourself for once. I’ll call if it starts looking like one of us is going to kill the other.”

With that endorsement, the call was easy, and next thing he knew he and Ketch were flying down the highway. Ketch was an even crazier driver than Dean, and that was saying a lot. After a few hours, Ketch looked over to Dean. “We’re coming up on Abilene… gas station, or are you hungry yet?”

“Gas station’s fine. We can get some snacks there and not lose the time it would take to go to a diner or fast food place.” That was Dad’s usual thing, especially on the first day of a trip.

Ketch nodded to that and pulled into a Texaco to fill up. Dean’s first stop was the bathroom, and then to round up snacks. He hadn’t paid much attention to what Ketch was doing, until he heard the first shot ring out. He turned in time to see the cashier hit the floor, followed by a second shot to take out a witness. “Come on, let’s get out of here,” Ketch said to Dean as he walked to the door, carrying a sack full of money.

They’d made it to Sweetwater by the time Dean found his voice. “What the hell happened back there?”

“I informed the cashier that his store would be sponsoring a great hunt to keep America safe and asked him to put the money in the bag. Had he simply done as instructed, that would be that, we’d be on our way and he’d be figuring out what to tell his boss. Instead, he went for a knife. Killing him was self-defense.” Ketch smiled over at Dean. “As for the other bloke, well… I did, technically, commit murder. Couldn’t leave a witness alive to identify us.”

Dad had pulled some pretty illegal stuff over the years, and so had Dean. His hands weren’t clean. Straight-up armed robbery, though? He could hear Dad’s voice ringing in his ears, reminding him how he didn’t trust Ketch. He was starting to regret his choice to go with Ketch, but on the other hand… was this really that different from credit card fraud? Theft was theft, right?

Ketch glanced his way again. “You okay over there? I’d have thought you’d be used to this sort of thing. Hunting lifestyle and everything.”

Dean forced himself to sound normal. “Just… never killed an actual human, that’s all. Probably gonna happen someday, right? May as well get used to the idea.”

 

They’d made it well into New Mexico before Ketch stopped for the night. Everything seemed fine, Ketch quite enthusiastic about Dean’s suggestion for stretching out after the long time in the car. When Dean fell asleep, he was back to feeling good about this trip. 

Now Ketch was gone, along with any trace of him. There was no indication that he was planning on coming back. No note. Dean waited as long as he could before the motel people told him to either pay for another night or get the hell out. Ketch had taken the money. Dean had checked, and at least Ketch hadn’t taken his wallet. Someone had even slipped a few extra twenties in it since the last time Dean had checked, although that had been before he left Dad and Sam. Depending on where he needed to go and how long he needed to give Dad to cool off before Dad would welcome him back, it might be enough or it might not. He headed for the bus station and called Sam.

“Dean? I didn’t think you’d call for a few days, let Dad calm down. How are things going?”

“Dad was right. Ketch was bad news. He’s gone. He…” Dean scrubbed a hand down his face. “Dad was right.”

There was a muffled conversation, and then Dad’s voice on the line. “Ditched you already, huh?”

“Yes, sir. You were right, I was wrong, and I’m sorry. What’s my next step?”

There was a short pause. “Get to Murphy’s. Sammy and I will meet you there. Eventually.”

 

Dean had shoved it all out of his mind. It was a bad decision, bad judgment, and a lesson on what questioning his dad would get him. But now, here they were, face to face again after all these years. “Guess it shouldn’t surprise me that you’re part of the group that tortured Sammy.”

“Believe me, if they’d called me in, I wouldn’t have harmed Sam. Lady Bevell is a different story, but it would have been a good thing for Sam if they’d called me in.” Ketch looked away from Dean. “I know you have less than no reason to believe me, but I didn’t leave you because I wanted to. I left you because I had to.”

“Oh, you had to, huh? What, the Men of Letters call you home?” Dean crossed his arms over his chest. This ought to be good.

“No. The longer you stayed with me, the more chance there was that they would order me to clean up any loose ends before I returned home – by which I mean, order me to kill you. I thought you’d be up to a fair fight, at least, but your reaction to the murders I committed…” Ketch trailed off, shaking his head. “Telling you to try to kill me wouldn’t have worked. You couldn’t have done it, meaning I’d have been forced to kill you. So I left before they could give the order.”

Dean found that insulting – but it was true, he couldn’t have killed Ketch, and from what he’d seen of the British Men of Letters, he could easily believe the claim that they’d have ordered Ketch to kill him. That Ketch would have done it if ordered. “So, what, I’m supposed to just forgive you? Be best friends now, ignore what your people did to Sammy?”

“No, of course not. But give Mick a chance. He’s not me, and he’s not Lady Bevell, either. He’s as close as you’ll find to a good man here. Just don’t make the mistake of forgetting that no one makes it this far in the Men of Letters unless they’re conditioned to follow our code. I’m sorry, Dean. I really am. I didn’t dare leave a note explaining why I left, and I didn’t know what Lady Bevell was doing to Sam until Mick called for me after shutting it down.”

“Yeah, well… we’ll see. No promises, but I’ll talk to Mom and Sam and Cas, see what they think. Really don’t wanna see you unless we call you first, got it?”

“Got it.” Ketch swung his leg over his motorcycle, revving it to life. “It was good to see you again, Dean.”


End file.
